Shimla, Mar 9(PTI) Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Sunday appealed to members of the ruling and opposition parties to contribute to the smooth running of the house in the upcoming budget session.

Speaking to reporters after an all-party meeting ahead of the budget session commencing on Monday, Pathania said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere, and the agenda of the session and other issues were discussed in detail.

Whether to hold the session on Saturday, a day after Holi, was also taken up, he said. A decision on the matter would be taken soon, he added.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshardhan Chauhan, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, and Whip of BJP Sukhram Chowdhary attended the meeting.

The speaker said the opposition should fulfil its duty by asking questions of public interest, while the government should reply to the questions by giving factual replies.

Thakur said the government has failed on all fronts and has nothing to do with public interest.

He said there is resentment in every section of the society, the law and order has collapsed, and drug addiction has become rampant.

Chauhan said that Vidhan Sabha is a powerful medium for members of both the parties to raise the issues of public interest. He asserted that the government was committed to being honest and transparent in its replies in the House. PTI BPL VN VN

Parliamentary conduct urged to ensure a smooth budget session; opposition to question public interest and government to give factual replies. Assembly management and parliamentary conduct were foregrounded in an all-party meeting ahead of the budget session, with the Speaker urging cross bench cooperation to ensure smooth House functioning; the meeting discussed the session agenda, scheduling around a festival observance, and procedural arrangements, and emphasized that the opposition should raise public interest questions while the government must provide factual, transparent replies.